1. Build and accredit

1 to 8

Secure and fit out industrial premises with extraction, bunding and effluent compliance; install first booth, prep bays, bench and welding equipment; recruit the production manager and first estimator; apply for SAMBRA accreditation and Bureau Veritas audit

SAMBRA structural grading achieved

2. Enter the panels

6 to 14

Apply to insurer panels against published standards; begin private and fleet work to build a repair record; implement estimating and cycle-time tracking from the first vehicle

Two insurer panel listings secured

3. Approvals and apprentices

Year 2

Pursue manufacturer approvals for two high-volume marques; register apprentices against the occupational qualifications; drive cycle time from 14 to 12 days

First manufacturer approval granted

4. Second booth

Year 3

Commission second booth and expand to 32 floor positions; scale insurer volume; commence principal repayment

Positive EBITDA; cycle time at 10.5 days

5. Optimise throughput

Years 4 to 5

Grow to 38 positions; drive cycle time to 9 days; add a third manufacturer approval; hold non-insurer work at premium rates

Cycle time at 9 days; sustained profitability

Industrial zoning and environmental compliance

The lease and all fit-out

A body shop runs booths, extraction, bunding and waste oil. Premises that cannot be licensed make R1.56m of fit-out worthless

SAMBRA structural grading

Every subsequent item in the capital schedule

Audited by Bureau Veritas under the National Auto Body Repair Grading Programme. It cannot be expedited and it is the first gate

Production manager recruited

Opening

Cycle time is the largest single sensitivity and it is a workflow outcome. The plan does not open without this appointment

Equipment specified to approval standard

The manufacturer approval application

Welding certification, electronic measuring and booth specification are assessed at application. Retrofitting costs twice and loses a year

Two insurer panel listings

The second spray booth

R2.30m of capital against volume that must exist first. A shop with equipment and no listings has fixed cost and no flow

Manufacturer approval, first marque

In-warranty accident volume

Vehicles under warranty are allocated only to approved repairers. Each approval carries its own facility and training requirements

Three-year capital moratorium

Surviving Years 1 to 3

EBITDA is negative until Year 3. Principal cannot be serviced and the term must be agreed at the outset

Working capital sized at 52 debtor days

Paying parts suppliers through the ramp

R4.18m sits in the Year 5 insurer debtor book. A facility sized off the equipment list funds a shop that cannot pay its suppliers